Vietnam aims to bring inflation to below 15 percent next year from a forecast 24 percent this year, the government said last week.

Prices in October in the city of 8 million are expected to ease 0.24 percent from September, bringing the annual inflation rate down to 25.7 percent from 27 percent, the city's Statistical Office said.

Food prices were still 74.5 percent higher this month than in October 2007, but eased 0.2 percent compared with September, the office said in its monthly report.

Consumer prices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's business centre, serve as an early indication of the national inflation figure, due to be published later this week.

Last week Vietnam's top fuel importer and retailer Petrolimex slashed retail petrol prices twice, with a total reduction of 6 percent, following lower oil prices on global markets.

However, the fuel price cut impact would not be seen in this month's inflation data this month because statistics agencies stop compiling data on the 15th day of each month to calculate the consumer price index.

By Ho Binh Minh - Reuters - October 21, 2008